Stay tuned for more snow – that’s the message from the National Weather Service.

Thursday’s storm is just one of many in the forecast for Southwest Colorado in the coming week, said meteorologist Michael Charnick with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.

The San Juan Mountains are in a winter weather advisory from Thursday to mid-day Friday. The mountain passes could see anywhere from three to six inches, and higher elevations could get up to eight inches.

“It’s definitely going to be slick travel over the passes for anyone out and about,” Charnick said. “Just take it easy if you’re diving out there.”

The region will get a brief respite from the winter weather Friday afternoon, but another system is expected to dump snow in the San Juans Saturday through Sunday morning. The mountains could see anywhere from 3 to 8 inches, Charnick said.

These weather patterns bring some hope for a better winter than last, Charnick said. At this time last year, there were no signs of winter weather systems coming through the area.

The two storms expected to hit Southwest Colorado in the next few days are both out of the Pacific, traveling eastward across the Rocky Mountains. Most of the snow from the storms will be dumped in the northern part of the state. Aspen could see up to a foot, Charnick said.

Next weekend looks positive for snow lovers as well – although its a bit far out to tell, Charnick said. Theres a chance of snow Wednesday, and Southwest Colorado could be in for a major storm by Dec. 1.

“There are some signs that that could be a pretty big system down there,” Charnick said. “There’s definitely hope out there.”

bhauff@durangoherald.com